Month: April 2019

We left Mount Laurel on Saturday, April 20^th, grateful for the clear weather after a night of heavy thunderstorms.  Our good friend, Val, was kind enough to drive us to our starting point in Washington, DC. Right out of the gate. We made a wrong turn and had a  front tire blow-out, but eventually found to mile 0, the start of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath.  We quickly left the crowded streets of Georgetown DC behind as we entered what we affectionately call the “Green Tunnel,” It’s a rough, mostly dirt, tree-lined path that runs the 185 miles from Washington, DC to Cumberland, MD.  It’s also mostly flat, allowing me to ease into riding. Our bikes are heavy, weighing eighty pounds each — and that’s with minimalist packing.

The weather was beautiful for the first 150 miles! We met interesting people both riding the canal and in the small towns along the way. It’s a rural area with few amenities.

On Thursday, 4/25, the rain began in the morning and picked up as we entered Cumberland, MD. It turned into a steady rain as we climbed the 1100 feet to Frostburg, MD, where we wisely made the decision to get a motel room and hit the laundromat across the street. It was still raining the next morning, and cold to boot. We debated whether to continue riding, but ultimately decided we’d rather brave the weather than sit in a tiny motel room all day.

So, we bundled up and began the climb up to the Mason Dixon Line.  It was a cold, wet ride … the kind where you start shivering the moment you stop cycling.  The following morning was forecast to be in the low 30’s. Fortunately, we were able to rent a small cottage for the night in Rockwood, PA, complete with cable TV and both a pool table and a ping-pong table.  After getting dry, warm and cleaned up, we headed out to the local tavern for dinner and a beverage – a real luxury!

Here we go again!

Two years ago, my good friend Bill and I set off on our bicycles from Atlantic City, NJ, heading west. The plan was for me to ride across the country with Bill accompanying me for the first week. I got as far as Cadiz, Ohio before discontinuing the trip due to health problems.

We are ready to set out together again — this time, starting from Washington DC on April 20^th — my 63^rd birthday. We are heading west with the goal of reaching Anacortes, WA sometime in August. We will be self-supported, carrying all we need to camp and live outside for the most part. I will have to get a couple of infusions of Chemotherapy along the way, once in Kansas City and again in Missoula, MT. Otherwise, we have no particular schedule to keep except to return home (by plane) sometime in August.

This trip did not come easily.  I developed a metastasis in my left eye in January, which after two weeks of radiation is on the mend, albeit with a detached retina and loss of vision. I fractured my big toe, bruised my ribs and injured my back in late March, which is slowly on the mend.  These events significantly hampered my training for this trip. My doctor’s advice is to start nice and easy and “ride how you feel.”  Bill was able to get a four-month leave of absence to make this happen. I am very grateful to my wife, Lissa, Bill, his lovely wife, Lynette and his employer for making possible a dream we have both had for years.

We are carrying a Garmin GPS device that will show our position and allow us to communicate using texts when out of Cell phone coverage.  As of April 20^th, you can track our progress using this link.